The Association of College & Research Libraries has released its annual report for 2015. (The report appears in the December issue of College & Research Libraries News.) This year marks the organization’s 75th anniversary. In recognition of this milestone, ACRL held a fundraising campaign, “Kick Start the Future”, which raised $56,000 to provide an additional 75 scholarships this past year. (This was among over $225,0000 awarded to 390 individuals.) ACRL also launched a 75th-anniversary website, which includes a commemorative video and a timeline of past ACRL Presidents. The organization held a number of events at its 2015 conference in Portland to celebrate ACRL’s accomplishments and future direction. The conference set a record for total registration (for both in-person and virtual attendance), with almost 3,400 on-site attendees and over 300 virtual ones, hailing from all 50 states and 24 foreign countries. There were also a record number of first time attendees, with approximately 1,250.
Other accomplishments include the following.
- Completing the revision of the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, to take into account ongoing changes in higher education at the global level
- Releasing a report titled “Academic Library Contributions to Student Success”, which brings together the findings of 70 North American colleges and universities from the “Assessment in Action” program (funded by a National Leadership Demonstration Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services)
- Hosting nearly 20 programs at the annual ALA conference in San Francisco, covering topics ranging from academic-freedom issues associated with tweeting, to library outreach programs for prisoners
- Holding several “tracks” in the Information Literacy Immersion Program, which gave attendees the opportunity to enhance their instructional skills and learn how to increase the roles libraries can play in their institutions
To view the full report, go here.